Family Educational Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1984, also known as the Buckley Amendment, helps protect the privacy of student records. The Act provides for students the right to inspect and review educational records, the right to seek to amend those records and to limit disclosure of information from the records. The Act applies to all institutions that are the recipients of Federal funding.

Directory Information

Institutions may disclose information about a student without violating FERPA through what is known as “directory information”. This generally includes but is not limited to the following information:

a.) Name, address, and telephone number. b.) University e-mail address. c.) Major field of study. d.) Participation in officially recognized sports. e.) Weight and height of athletes. f.) Dates of attendance, i.e., an academic year, a spring semester, or a first quarter. g.) Degrees and awards received. h.) Most recent previous educational agency or institution attended.